Barclays PLC Raises Stake in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE)

Barclays PLC raised its position in Astec Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTE) by 118.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 40,529 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 22,017 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Astec Industries were worth $1,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harvey Partners LLC increased its holdings in Astec Industries by 101.4% in the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 282,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,007,000 after buying an additional 142,000 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Astec Industries by 96.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 171,101 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,465,000 after acquiring an additional 84,202 shares in the last quarter. Mill Road Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Astec Industries during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,467,000. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Astec Industries by 64.3% in the 3rd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 134,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,290,000 after acquiring an additional 52,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Astec Industries by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 581,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,247,000 after acquiring an additional 41,800 shares in the last quarter. 93.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Astec Industries Stock Down 1.7 %

Astec Industries stock opened at $33.22 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.07. The company has a market capitalization of $757.48 million, a P/E ratio of -415.20 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.47. Astec Industries, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.46 and a fifty-two week high of $44.74.

Astec Industries (NASDAQ:ASTE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. The firm had revenue of $291.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $312.90 million. Astec Industries had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 7.69%. Astec Industries’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS.

Astec Industries Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Astec Industries’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -650.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on ASTE shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Astec Industries from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Astec Industries from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Astec Industries Company Profile

Astec Industries, Inc designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets equipment and components used primarily in road building and related construction activities worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Infrastructure Solutions and Materials Solutions. The Infrastructure Solutions segment offers asphalt plants and related components, heaters, concrete dust control systems, asphalt pavers, vaporizers, concrete material handling systems, screeds, heat recovery units, paste back-fill plants, asphalt storage tanks, hot oil heaters, bagging plants, fuel storage tanks, industrial and asphalt burners and systems, custom batch plants, material transfer vehicles, soil stabilizing-reclaiming machinery, blower trucks and trailers, milling machines, soil remediation plants, wood chippers and grinders, pump trailers, concrete batch plants, control systems, liquid terminals, storage equipment and related parts, construction and retrofits, polymer plants, and concrete mixers, as well as engineering and environmental permitting services.